Truscott Torment
by gotc147
Summary: Lies, abuse, betrayal, theft. Lilly's past was unpleasant and her future is about to take a drastic turn for the worse. Rating may change.
1. Suspension

Chapter 1: Suspended

Well here I am in a new category. Maybe I can get some new readers with this and maybe more ideas for stories.

Note: This is a bit of a dark fic and is my first attempt at a Hannah Montana story. I'm not bashing any of the characters through this story nor am I trying to insult anybodies favorite character, so let's try to keep things civil.

* * *

Lilly arrived home from school slouched, dragging her backpack against the ground. She walked into her house and dropped her bag at the door; she wasn't in the mood to be doing homework right now.

The blond made her way through the kitchen, not attempting to hide her emotions from her mother, who was making something to eat. "Lilly honey, what's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

Lilly opened the refrigerator and got a can of soda, then she said; "Not now mom, I want to be alone" in a very saddened tone.

Lilly's mother understood how her daughter worked, she'd want to be alone and after an hour she was ready to talk about whatever it was, but had to be approached, Ms. Truscott always played Lilly's way.

The sixteen year old entered her room and closed the door; she placed the soda on her nightstand and flopped down on her bed, small whimpers escaping her.

Her phone rang; Lilly let it ring several times before picking it up. "Yeah?" She said in a depressed voice.

"Lilly, I don't know what happened between you and those two…" It was Miley, and she was referring to Amber and Ashley. "But don't let it get to you, you're way better than they'll ever be and you have a bright future, don't let insignificant thorns get you down."

The words were encouraging and did make Lilly feel a little better, but she still wanted some time to herself. "Thanks Miley… Listen, I'm gonna turn in early tonight, I'll see you tomorrow."

"You got it" Miley said before hanging up.

Lilly took a deep breath and then a sip of her soda; she changed into her pajamas and laid back down on her bed, thinking about what the two witches of the west had said to her.

* * *

Miley and Oliver returned to Miley's house, neither had been with Lilly when she encountered Amber and Ashley and so don't know exactly what happened but they had heard at least most of the rumors. "So do you think Max was there?" Oliver queried.

"If he was he's lying, Lilly may not be the brightest bulb in the hallway but she's not gonna kick another girl between the legs" Miley said.

"Point taken… Well what about Sarah?"

Miley gave the boy a strange look. "Sarah didn't even really tell us what happened unless…" Miley took a step back from the counter and covered her eyes with her hands and convulsed her upper body as she said, "Oh my goodness, it was terrible, I couldn't believe it, I, Oh my, holy crap, I don't believe it!" She stopped and looked back to Oliver. "Translates from nerdette to a version of what she saw!"

"Oh not that Sarah, I meant Sarah Maroni" Oliver said.

"I don't listen to a word that comes out of that girl's mouth, she spreads more gossip than an army of senior citizens" Miley said.

"How about John?"

"John Crowley? He's got the most believable story I've heard but…"

"So you really think Lilly clawed out one of Amber's eyes?" Oliver chirped up excitedly.

"Well I think that was an exaggeration but…"

Oliver interrupted again. "And you think Ashley really slammed Lilly's head into a locker?"

"Well I didn't say…"

"And you think Lilly tore off Ashley's skirt and…" This time Miley was the one who interrupted.

"Enough! I'm not jumping to any conclusions and I'm not talking about it anymore until I talk to Lilly" and that ended the conversation.

* * *

Exactly fifty-eight minutes after Lilly had entered her house her mother came to join her in her room. "Lilly honey…" Heather Truscott asked gently. "You ready to talk?" Lilly was sitting on the side of her bed; she pushed her hair out of her face and nodded. Her mother sat next to her, with only as much space between them so that they weren't touching. "What happened today sweetie?"

Lilly sniffed up and said "Ashley and Amber…" Ms. Truscott knew full well about them and the torment they put her daughter through. "They said things to me today…" Lilly paused.

"What did they say?"

"They asked me why I can't hold a boyfriend… Then mocked me about how all the boys I get involved with leave me…"

Heather put her hand on her daughters back and rubbed. "Honey, don't let them push you around like that, those boys aren't good enough for you."

Lilly's eyes teared up slightly. "Then they said things about dad…" Lilly's mom knew this was a very touchy subject for her. The blond had a mixed relationship with her father, on the one hand he could be a kind and loving father who Lilly could look up to, and did. But on the other he could be a terror to be around, abusive at times. On more than one occasion he had hit Lilly, one time pushing her into a wall, dislocating her shoulder.

However through it all Lilly idolized him, them came the divorce. Once her father moved out Lilly became lost, the only person she looked up to had left her high and dry. Her mother approached her and had a chat with her about her father that lasted nearly half a day, trying to make her understand that her father wasn't everything she thought he was, Lilly listened and understood, but still loved her father which Ms. Truscott said was okay as long as she realized that her father wasn't the greatest.

"They said that he was a retarded drunk who was unfaithful and went off with some whore" Lilly's tears fell upon saying this.

Ms. Truscott pulled her daughter into a hug and held her, letting her cry and get the emotions out. After a few moments Heather said "Honey, whatever they said about your father they said out of ignorance, they don't know anything about him."

"I know but it made me so mad that I… I…" Lilly couldn't bring herself to say it, that was when Ms. Truscott noticed a scratch on her daughter's cheek which showed signs of being covered with makeup, explaining why she missed it before.

"You hit them didn't you?" Ms. Truscott said sympathetically, she wasn't angry with Lilly for initiating violence but was worried about the effects it may've had.

Lilly nodded and sniffed up again, "I pushed Amber away and as I turned Ashley scratched me across the face, then Amber got back up and pushed me into the wall."

Heather continued to comfort her daughter, after another few minutes she asked "Did the teachers see anything?" Lilly didn't answer but rather pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to her mother. It was basically a long winded explanation about why Lilly was suspended for the next three days. She gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "It's okay honey, but next time just walk away alright? I don't want you to get hurt."

With that Ms. Truscott left Lilly alone. The blond turned on her TV and flipped to her favorite show which was about to start.

* * *

Again, this is my first Hannah Montana so be gentle. Reviews make me write faster.


	2. One Wound

Chapter 2: One Wound

This story has been revamped.

* * *

Lilly was on top of a wave. This was a good time of day for surfing though Lilly only got the chance to surf on weekends. When she got off the wave she headed for the Rico's shop. It was closed but she was more interested in finding a place to sit and be alone right now.

She still couldn't believe that she was the one the school put the blame on for the incident, yes, she was the one who initiated the violence but she was also the one who ended up with the abrasion. Amber and Ashley were told to watch their tongues and then sent back to class. Lilly planted her surf board in the sand and took a seat, there was nobody around, another hour and this place will be overflowing with people.

She thought about where her life was going, if where it's been was any indication she was in for a pretty crappy life. Yes, she had great friends and a great mother but that was about it, a lot of people would say that's all you need in life but in truth, it isn't, not in today's dog eat dog world. She wondered how she was able to get through everything and then she realized why - her mother. Lilly's mother was _always_ there for her, even in the worst of times. She was there when her father hit her and left them, through every heartbreak and through every friend fight, the sixteen year old wondered where she'd be if she didn't have her mother, or if she were to loose her, then cringed at the thought.

Two o'clock rolled around and Lilly made her way to the school skate park, the previous night she had called Miley back and told her to meet her here after school. The blond's phone chirped, she checked the text message:

"Teach wants 2 c me be there in 5"

Lilly briefly wondered if her friend was in trouble or if it was something else, either way she had an extra five minutes so she decided to grab her skateboard and pass the time. She dropped into the half pipe and grinded along the other side coming back then dropping back in. A few more trips from side to side and she had some good speed, she came down off one side and exited the half pipe, rolled around an obstacle and then up a ramp, she came back down and made a left heading to a grinding rail, what she didn't see was a bolt laying right in her path. It caught under her wheel and brought the board to an abrupt stop, throwing Lilly forward. She hit her forehead on the rail hard, right below the helmet rim and right above her eyebrows. The impact instantly knocked her out.

Miley arrived to find her friend lying face down, a trail of blood leading away from her head and into a storm drain. She ran over and turned Lilly over, her eyes were closed and the wound on her head was bad, it was going to require stitches even Miley could see that. She pulled her cell out and dialed 911.

* * *

As soon as they arrived at the hospital the doctors took Lilly into the ER, not allowing Miley to enter. She was escorted to a waiting room where she called her father, she told him what happened, or at least what she knew and Robby said he'd be right there.

After calling her father Miley called Oliver, who said he'd be there as soon as he could. When she hung up one of the nurses came to her and asked "you're admitting the blond?"

Miley turned around, offended at the rude tone the nurse had taken. "That blond has a name you know" She spat.

"Oh really? Well that's nice why don't you write it down along with yours so we can get the paperwork done" She said shoving a clipboard in Miley's face.

Miley took the clipboard and then a seat, not knowing what half of the form was asking she filled out what she understood, which was her name and Lilly's. Ten minutes passed and the nurse returned, she looked over Miley's shoulder and said "what's taking you so long?"

Miley shot the woman a glare. "Well for one I've never filled one of these out before…" That was when Oliver arrived.

"Miley! Is she alright?!" He yelled, getting everybody's attention. "What happened?!"

"Oliver, why don't you take a seat and I'll tell you what happened" The brunette suggested. The boy took a few deep breaths during which the nurse vacated then he sat next to Miley. She explained what she saw, but also said that she didn't know how it happened.

"So is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't know, they won't tell me anything" Miley replied.

An hour passed and Robby still hadn't arrived, Miley decided to give him another call. "Miles, I got an issue right now, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Dad! I've got an issue right now, I need you here!"

"Miley I promise you I'll be there soon but trust me when I say this can't wait."

Frustrated, Miley hung up. "Where is he?" Oliver asked.

"Has an issue" Miley said.

Another two hours passed before Robby got to the hospital, as soon as he entered Miley yelled "Where were you?!" At him.

"Miles…" He hesitated, not sure of how to put it. "Before I came here I went to Ms. Truscott's work to tell her what happened…"

"She only works in the next town over, what took so long?" Miley demanded.

"Well she got really worried and left to come see Lilly, I offered to drive her but she insisted on taking her own car and…" Miley interrupted him.

"Oh, so where is she?"

"Well…" Another nurse came out and called Miley's name, getting the trios attention.

"Lillian's out of surgery…" The nurse said, this was a different nurse from the one who had given Miley a hard time earlier.

"And? Is she gonna be okay?" Miley asked impatiently.

"Well the doctors were able to stop the bleeding and close the wound but we won't know for sure if she's suffered any brain damage until she wakes up."

"For sure?" Robby queried.

"Well we checked for any outward signs, misaligned eyes and non-responsive reflexes and those tests showed that she'll make a full recovery but it's not unheard of for someone to take a severe blow to the head and not show any signs of brain damage then when they wake up… Well you get the idea."

"Poor girl" Robby commented.

"Can we see her?" Oliver asked.

"Yes you can, fourth door on the left" the nurse said pointing down the hall.

The three made their way to Lilly's room. She had white medical tape wrapped around her head; they could see her blond locks hanging out of the back, meaning they were able to spare her hair. They were also able to spare her the shame of having to be disrobed as she was still wearing her same clothes.

Miley went to Lilly's side, pulled up a seat and took her hand in hers. "Oh Lilly this is all my fault! If only I didn't have to keep you waiting…" her father put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault honey, it just happened" Miley began to tear up, that was when Lilly began to stir.

"Whoa, she's waking up already?" Oliver said.

With a labored groan Lilly shifted in the bed and opened her eyes. "Hey guys" She said quietly.

Miley jumped out of her chair and wrapped her arms around Lilly's neck in a hug, getting a gurgling sound to escape the slightly older girl. Robby pulled his daughter off and said "Hey Lilly, you okay?"

"Um… I guess, what happened to me?"

"I don't know I just found you lying on the ground at the skate park" Miley explained.

Lilly nodded then looked around the room. "Hey… Where's my mom?" She asked innocently. Robby sighed heavily, letting Miley go then putting a hand on the wall to lean on. "Mr. Stewart?" Lilly asked.

"Daddy?" All eyes were on Robby Ray, who was having trouble composing himself. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

He turned to face Lilly and made direct eye contact with her. "Lilly… I hate to have to tell you this but… Your mother's dead."

* * *

This chapter was madly hard to write, I'm actually not completely satisfied with it as is but I wanted to post it. Sorry about the cliffhanger but I thought it would be a good chapter ending. More chapters to come, please review.


	3. Two Wounds

Chapter 3: Two Wounds

I feel I should mention that after this and the next chapter I have no clue where I'm going to take this story…

* * *

Lilly stared at Robby, a hurt look on her face. "What?" She asked, barely audible.

Robby Ray looked at the floor as he walked over and took a seat on the bed. "Lilly I'm sorry, when Miley told me what happened I went to tell your mother at work…" He began. He didn't know Heather Truscott's work phone number and when he tried her cell it was off so he drove there instead. "I told her what happened and she got really worried so she ran down to her car and drove off" he paused; Lilly's eyes were filled with tears. "I was right behind her trying to keep up but then she ran a red light…" Miley and Oliver hadn't moved from their spots and hadn't made a peep since Robby started talking, their mouths were agape and their eyes fixated on Mr. Stewart. "This big semi truck came speeding past and… And hit your mothers car" that was where Robby Ray felt it was time to stop; there was no need for Lilly to know exactly how her mother died.

The blond's composure was fading rapidly. Her tears created waterfalls down her cheeks and her jaw was shaking, she went to say something but only an indistinguishable sound escaped her throat before she burst out crying. She buried her face in the bed sheets. Robby Ray shed a tear himself, his and Heather's relationship was merely a friendship but Lilly was like a second daughter to him and he was crushed to see her like this, particularly for this reason.

Robby slowly got up from the bed and took a seat in the corner, Miley took his place. Oliver had no idea what to do; he stood at the foot of the bed and stared at the floor, at a complete loss for words.

A doctor walked in. "Well miss Truscott you are a very lucky young lady…" He said looking at a clipboard as he walked. He looked up from his paperwork his smile faded. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Doc why don't you and I just have a chat out in the hall here eh?" Robby suggested practically dragging the doctor out the door.

"Are you the father?" the doctor asked, he was a shorter man, maybe five eight, late forties maybe early fifties and a receding hairline with glasses.

"No I'm not, is she gonna be okay?"

The doctor made a look of concern. "Well she will be alright from what I was able to tell, was she consolable before I got in?"

"Yeah she was talking just fine, remembered who we are no problem" Robby explained.

"That's great news, but what is she so upset about?"

"I just had to tell her that I watched her mother die not three hours ago" Robby said looking away.

"That's horrible… My deepest sympathies, might you know the father?"

"He left her and her mother a long time ago; I have no idea where he is."

The doctor took another look at his paperwork. "Well Mister…?"

"Stewart" Robby said.

"Mr. Stewart, I'm afraid I can't give out any of Lillian's medical information, if she were two years older she could sign a release and I could give you her whole medical background but as it is I need a parent, legally I can't even let her out of the building…"

* * *

Miley put her hand on Lilly's shoulder, the blond was still crying hard and wasn't showing any signs of stopping. "Lilly… I…" Miley began, "I don't know what to say…"

The gesture went unnoticed. Lilly's face was a dark red as were her eyes and sweat dropped from her forehead as she continued to sob uncontrollably.

* * *

"Well Mr. Stewart if that's what you want to do I wish you luck, as soon as everything gets filed I'll be happy to tell you everything you want to know" The doctor said.

"Thank you" Robby replied.

"You're the one who should be thanked, that's a big thing you want to do for Lillian."

Robby smiled. "Well, I know her mother would've done the same thing for my two kids if it had been me… So hopefully it'll only take a short while."

"I'd talk to the DSS, they have ways to expedite things like that" The doctor suggested.

Robby nodded in agreement then returned to the room. He made his way around the bed and to where Miley was sitting; he put a hand on her shoulder and silently asked if he could have the seat.

Miley obliged, and Robby sat on the bed next to Lilly. He leaned in and asked gently; "Lilly honey… Can you look at me for a minute?"

Lilly was beginning to calm down somewhat, after a few seconds she looked up at the former rock star. "In the event that we can't find your father to take you in…" He left out the suggestion of her father simply not wanting to take her in. "I'll become your legal guardian and you can live with us."

Lilly sniffed up but a barely noticeable smile crossed her lips. She embraced the man in a long hug, which Robby returned. The girl tried to say thank you but still couldn't form words.

Miley saw the sight and was nearly brought to tears herself – tears of joy. She was very happy for Lilly, once the dust settled she would have a loving home to live in, she silently hoped that Mr. Truscott wouldn't enter the picture.

Robby had a sick feeling that he was going to have to go through the courts to take guardianship of Lilly whether they located her father or not. Not that he didn't want to, but the thought of any father turning their back on their child filled him with anger.

* * *

So yeah as I said I don't know where this story is going after the next chapter so an update may not come as soon as they have been. Anywho, let me know what you thought and I apologize that this chapter is so short, I normally write chapters that are twice as long as the ones in this story have been…


	4. Legal Trouble

Chapter 4: Legal Trouble

Not much to say here, just another chapter of Truscott Torment…

* * *

It took a week. The first thing Robby Ray did when he got home from the hospital was call the Department of Social Services and told them of the situation. Four days later he received a call saying that despite the connections the DSS had, they could not track down Lilly's father, so Robby asked about guardianship. After three days of meetings and court appearances along with a visit to Lilly in the hospital Robby was finally able to sign the all important paperwork.

He and Miley drove to the hospital. Miley making a beeline for Lilly's room while her father located the doctor he had spoken to seven days earlier.

"Lilly!" Miley yelled as she entered. "I've got great news!"

Lilly was not nearly as excited. Although having regained her ability to speak without breaking down she was still mourning, having trouble accepting the fact that she had lost the most important person in her life. The medical tape around her head had been removed and now a scar from her left eyebrow to almost her hairline was visible, no amount of makeup was going to conceal that. She looked at her best friend but didn't say anything.

"My dad adopted you; you're coming to live with us!"

Lilly diverted her eyes; this news was not as great as its face value suggested. It meant that her father had turned her away, the feeling of betrayal washed over her and it hurt, it hurt a lot, too much to set aside until a better time. A tear dripped down her left cheek but other than that she showed no outward signs of emotion.

"Lilly? Are you okay?"

The blond blinked then said; "That's great Miley, seems we ended up sisters after all…"

It was hard not to detect the sadness in her voice. Miley sat next to her friend and rubbed her back. "Lilly… I know you're hurting bad right now, but everything's gonna be alright, as soon as daddy talks to the doctor we're gonna stop by your house and grab your things then move you into ours."

Lilly nodded without looking up. "Where am I gonna sleep?" She asked sheepishly.

* * *

Robby Ray went to the front desk and inquired about Lilly's doctor, after a brief wait he was escorted to Dr. Nickelson's office. "Hey doc, I got the papers right here" he said handing the papers over.

"Excellent Mr. Stewart, I want to tell you that Lilly is going to be fine, the head injury hasn't affected her brain patterns at all." The doctor said.

"Whew, that's a relief, is there anything I should know about her health? Anything out of the ordinary?" Robby asked.

"Other than very poor vision no, she has contact lenses for that though."

Robby nodded and thanked the doctor, then headed for Lilly's room. When he entered he found Miley rubbing Lilly's back, the older girl slouched a bit. "Hey Lilly."

She looked at him and smiled. "Hi Mr. Stewart" she said.

"You feeling better?" He asked gently. Lilly looked down and took several seconds to answer.

"Considering all that's happened I guess I'm doing alright…"

"_That's the spirit kid"_ Robby thought to himself. "You ready to get out of here? Go home?"

"Yeah!" Lilly said excitedly. For the first time in a week she sounded happy.

* * *

The drive to Lilly's house was full of chatter from the two teenagers in the back seat and although much of it was indistinguishable to Robby, he was very happy to hear Lilly's cheery voice rather than a depressed monotone. When they arrived however, they found a moving van in the driveway. "What the…?" Robby asked rhetorically.

Miley and Lilly abruptly stopped talking and looked out the window. "Hey, whose looting my house?!" Lilly exclaimed.

Robby pulled over to the side of the road opposite the Truscott house. "Lilly, might you know what kind of car your father drives?" He asked not really wanting to know.

"A Mercedes E Class, why?" Lilly answered.

"Oh boy…" Robby said as he put his truck in park. Sure enough, there was a black 2006 Mercedes Benz E350 parked next to the moving van that had gone unnoticed by the girls.

The three got out of the truck, the girls running towards the house and Robby tailing them, rolling his sleeves up. Two movers were carrying a sofa across the lawn, presumably to the van, the girls jumped on it, causing the movers to drop the piece of furniture. "What the hell are you doing!?" Lilly yelled at the two men.

The men looked at each other then one of them said to her; "Our jobs."

Robby arrived on the scene. "And what job might that be?"

Again the men looked at each other. This time the other man spoke; "Well that should be obvious, now if you two could please remove yourselves, we've got to finish up here."

"This is my house! This is my stuff! Where do you think you're taking it?!" Lilly screamed at them.

Neither of the men spoke, they took hold of the sofa and dumped the girls off it, then continued to relocate it to the van.

Another man walked out of the house, he was clean cut, wearing an expensive suit and tie. He was on the phone but as soon as he saw Lilly, he excused himself from the conversation and hung up. "Well, well, if it isn't my daughter…"

That statement alone made Robby's blood boil; Lilly's father didn't even address her by name. "May I ask where you're taking all of your former wife's belongings?" He asked in a calm tone.

"Former belongings and it's not of your concern mister…?" He spoke with sophistication in his voice; Robby could tell by his speech that he was well educated.

"It's not of your concern" Robby replied. "Look, we're not here to get into it with you, we're only here to get Lilly's things if we may" it wasn't a request.

"I'm afraid everything in this house along with the house and land it's planted on now belong to me, courtesy of my late former wife."

"Ah I see, so Heather didn't leave anything to Lilly in the event of her death?" Robby queried.

"Actually she left everything to Lillian, but my daughter was incapacitated at the time of her death so everything goes to me instead" Mr. Truscott informed.

"Incapacitated… She was in the hospital with a severe head injury." Robby said.

"It doesn't matter, she was unable to collect and I wasn't about to let all of my new furniture, appliances, clothes and property just sit here."

"Clothes?" Robby asked looking the man right in the eye. "What would you want with a teenage girl's clothes?" He asked, disgusted.

"Well my former wife's clothes would fit my new wife nicely and Lillian's would do nicely for my other daughter… Although I doubt Melissa would be interested in Lilly's old underwear, you can have that if you want." And with that he walked to his car and drove off, leaving the Stewart's in shock and Lilly humiliated.

* * *

I'm feeling that I'm loosing my touch here; I don't feel like this chapter is as in-depth as the first, tell me, has it been going down hill?


	5. Can't Forget

Chapter 5: Can't forget

Bit of a delay in getting this chapter done, apologies.

* * *

After attempting to collect Lilly's belongings at her house the trio stopped at a mall to do some shopping for the girl. Robby had given them a budget of two thousand dollars to get Lilly a bed and other bedroom furniture along with clothes and anything else she wanted, anything over two thousand was on them. With that, he left them to their indulgences, telling Miley to call him when they were done.

"Bed last" Miley suggested as the two walked in the front door. Lilly didn't say anything, she was keeping up with her friend but was watching the ground and slouching slightly, Miley took a second to notice. "Hey…" She began softly, looking at Lilly. The brunette put her hand under the blond's chin and raised her face to look at her. "I know you've been through a lot, but try not to dwell on it, everything's gonna be okay."

Miley could see tears welling up in Lilly's eyes, the older girl blinked at they fell. "No it's not!" She spat before breaking down into Miley's chest.

For a good twelve minutes Lilly wept in her friend's embrace, and for the final three of those minutes the sight had the attention of a guy sitting alone on a bench barely within earshot. This guy was handsome, short blond hair with green eyes and his grey muscle shirt showed off his buff arms. He got to his feet, a towering six feet and three inches compared to the two girls, Lilly at five foot two and Miley five foot four.

His age wasn't perfectly clear but at the youngest he was a high school senior and the oldest a college sophomore, so somewhere between eighteen and twenty-two. He approached the girls, "I'm going to guess you just lost someone very important to you?" He asked, his voice was deep, but gentle, almost soothing, with a little recording magic he'd make a good singer.

Miley looked at him and nearly melted; he had a bit of facial hair, a bit on the upper lip as if he were beginning to grow a mustache and a bit on the chin, almost like a young goatee. "I… Uh, you know… Erm… She just… I just… I mean…" Miley rambled; this was when Lilly noticed the stranger.

The young man quirked an eyebrow at her, "Tough times?" He asked the blond, already knowing the answer.

Lilly felt she needed to put on a show; she cleared her throat and wiped away her tears. "Yes…" She began, "And I appreciate your concern but I'm not ready to get back into a relationship."

"You're not broken up over some guy…" The young man said. "You lost someone closer to you than that" it was as if he was reading her mind. Lilly didn't say anything; she just redirected her eyes to a spot on the floor to the left and behind the boy. "Alright, I understand if you're not ready to talk, but here…" He pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen, wrote down a number and offered it to Lilly. "That's my cell, when you're up to it, and not before, give me a call anytime."

Lilly looked at the paper, then to the boy's face, then back to the paper. She took it and the boy walked off without any more words. Lilly wasn't sure what to say and neither did Miley, but not for the same reason. "Oh my God Lilly did you see that guy?!" She was obviously in her own little world.

Lilly didn't answer, she opened the paper and saw the number and under it a sentence: "The future is here, don't turn away. Jason" under any other circumstances her legs would give out under her, but in her current state she was merely intrigued.

* * *

The shopping trip lasted three hours, Robby drove the two back to the Stewart house and once he was out of the truck he called for Jackson. "Hey boy! Need your help!" He yelled. "Alright Miley, Lilly, you two got the bags and Jackson and I will get the heavy stuff."

The girls lugged the six bags of clothes and other items which included perfumes, lipstick, makeup, etc. into the house, bringing it up to Miley's room. "You know I just thought of something…" The brunette said.

"Hm?" Lilly asked, she'd managed to calm down in the last three hours.

"I have no idea where we plan to put the bed."

"Or my new clothes…" Lilly added.

Miley looked around her room, there wasn't enough free space to put another bed, never mind another closet. The Stewarts didn't have a spare room either, which was going to make this a tight squeeze. "Well… let's see, we'll have to move that chair and my dresser and maybe we can fit the bed there… But then we're not gonna be able to get between the beds…" Miley mused.

Twenty minutes of figuring passed before Robby and Jackson managed to stumble up the stairs carrying Lilly's bed. "Jeez Lilly, you get a big enough bed?" Robby asked not really looking to get an answer. "Alright Jackson set the mattress up against the wall and let's get the frame in there…"

Another half hour passed before the men of the house got the bed frame into position, it involved moving Miley's bed a few feet to the side and also moving the chair and dresser she mentioned earlier. "Alright… Let's try getting that mattress in here…" Jackson said, uncertainty clear in his voice.

After a full hour Miley's room had been completely rearranged, two beds, two dressers, a chair and four night stands. "Alright ladies, have fun" Robby said, sweat dripping from his brow, Jackson had left as soon as everything was in place. "I'm gonna start dinner, pork chops tonight" he announced just before exiting.

"Well…" Miley began, turning to face her friend. "Whatcha wanna do now?"

"Beach" Lilly said.

The two changed and made the short walk to a spot on the beach, setting up only about ten meters from the water. "I need to cool off, you coming?" Miley asked.

"Not right now, I'm just gonna lie down for a bit" Lilly answered.

"Suit yourself" the brunette said, walking away.

The blond looked around; the beach reminded her of all the good times, but also of many of the bad. But no matter what the memory, it was with her mother, and a few with her father. "Dammit… Why can't I get past this?" Lilly whispered to herself.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out Jason's number, she stared at it for quite a while before she dialed it on her cell. "This is great…" She said aloud, "I'm going to open up to a complete stranger…"

* * *

So a guy has entered Lilly's life, but how does that change her future? Any predictions? Let me know how I did.


	6. Introductions and a Meet

Chapter 6: Introductions and a Meet

Still nothing negative about this story, I haven't the foggiest idea where I'm pulling all this out of but hey…

* * *

""Hello?" Jason answered.

"Um… Hi…" Lilly said back, not really sure how to start the conversation.

"Mystery girl from the mall I take it?"

"… Yeah… Lilly" she answered.

"That's a pretty name, it's nice to meet you, for the sake of being corny, I'm Jason" he introduced.

"How did you know what was bothering me?" Lilly asked, skipping the formalities.

Jason chuckled. "You don' have to be around people for very long before you learn how to read them."

The statement made Lilly slightly uncomfortable, but not enough to make her hang up. "So, you read people?"

"No, it's a skill that I've picked up that comes in handy every so often. I go to college in San Diego, majoring in advanced math" the boy explained.

"San Diego? That's a bit of a drive; you must live on campus, just up here for the weekend?" Lilly asked, not impressed.

"No, I commute" Jason said nonchalantly.

"At four dollars a gallon? Do you come from money or something?" Lilly asked, surprised.

"Well off but not wealthy, my family gets by."

Lilly shook her head in disbelief; San Diego was over one-hundred miles away from Los Angeles, even if he could afford the gas it's still at least an hour and a half drive. "So how long does it take you to get to school every day?"

"About a half hour each way, unless the weather is bad" Jason answered, his smile was so big it could almost be heard through the phone.

Lilly's disbelief had been replaced with confusion. "A half hour? To get from here to San Diego? And what does the weather have to do with it?"

Jason suppressed his smile and took a deep breath; he wasn't ready to tell this girl everything about himself just yet. "I'd rather talk about what had you so broken up at the mall, those kinds of tears and I'm going to put my money on either your mother or father, though it might've been a very close grandparent."

The blond's mind retraced its steps back to her mother, and that depressed feeling washed over her again. After a long pause, she muttered hoarsely; "Mother."

Jason nodded even though it was a phone conversation. "I see, what happened?"

"Car accident" Lilly said, then she let out a heavy sigh. Jason paused for a moment, wondering what he should say, but that was when Miley returned from the ocean.

"Who's that?" The brunette asked Lilly.

"Uh…" Lilly quickly looked at Miley then turned her attention back to her conversation partner. "I gotta go, I'll call you again yeah?"

"Of course, just try not to let yourself get wrapped up in the face value, try to remember the good times" Jason suggested.

"I will, bye" and she hung up. "That was um… Just a friend" she said to Miley.

Miley normally would've suspected a new guy that Lilly liked, but she wasn't showing any outward signs of such, so the younger girl's suspicions wandered towards a friend that she didn't know about. "Somebody I know?" She asked.

Lilly wanted to change the subject. "Hey, what do you say we got o Rico's place, grab some food?" She suggested, knowing full well that Robby was cooking dinner for them. Before Miley could respond Lilly was already walking off.

"Um… Okay" the brunette said.

* * *

Jackson was working when the girls got to Rico's. "Oh lovely" Miley said as they walked up. They sat at the counter and it didn't take Jackson long to notice them.

"Hey, wasn't dad making pork chops?" He asked his sister.

"Oh shoot, that's right, I'm sorry Miley, let's get back to your place" Lilly said.

"Oh don't worry, if I know dad he's not worried about it" Jackson said.

"Why not?" Lilly asked.

"More for him" both Miley and Jackson said at the same time.

"So what'll it be?" Jackson asked the girls.

They ordered, ate and left. The walk back to the Stewart house was brief and silent. Once they got back Robby was sitting at the table, still eating. "Hey ladies, what's up? I found myself eating alone."

"Sorry daddy, we forgot you were making dinner" Miley said.

Robby nodded and the girls went upstairs. "Hey Miley? I'm gonna go for walk" Lilly said.

"Oh okay, just let me change and I'll-" she was cut off.

"I'd, prefer to go alone."

Miley looked offended. "Oh, okay then, um, when will you be back?"

Lilly thought for a moment. "I'm not sure."

The blond changed into a pair of yellow Bermudas with a light green sleeveless shirt and put her hair in a high ponytail. "Meeting someone?" Miley queried.

"Oh, no…" Lilly lied. "I'm just going for a nice long walk, I do that sometimes."

"Uh huh…" Miley said, not too sure what else to say.

Five minutes later Lilly was out the door with only her cell phone and fifty dollars in her pocket. She got about three doors down from the Stewart's when she dialed Jason again.

"Hey Lilly" he answered.

"Hey, um, you around?"

"Define around" Jason requested.

"In the vicinity of the high school?" Lilly clarified.

"Not far" he said.

"You um… wanna meet me on the south face?" Lilly asked sheepishly.

"Sure, I'll be there in five."

* * *

Slightly shorter than my other chapters, and just a filler, next chapter will be better.


	7. First Date, Night Flight

Chapter 7: First Date, Night Flight

Here I go again.

* * *

Lilly arrived at the school and took a seat on a bench. The sky was beautiful tonight, the sun had dipped below the horizon and oranges and purples could be seen all across the cloudless sky.

Jason arrived driving what looked like a brand new car. It was definitely late-model, a blue Chevy Cobalt, an inexpensive car but still not easy for someone working for probably less than ten dollars and hour to afford. "Nice night" he greeted.

"Very nice" Lilly agreed with a smile.

"So what did you have in mind?" Jason asked.

The blond thought to herself, she really hadn't planned anything other than just spending some time with this boy who she had begun to feel oddly attracted to. "Well erm… There's a ridge a little ways to the north that gives you a great view of the city, why don't we head up there?"

Jason smirked with a quick laugh, Lilly was slightly offended. "Well, if you're looking to get a great view of the city, I have a much better way of showing you a great view…" He said getting back into his car. "You coming?" Lilly was hesitant, she didn't know Jason very well of yet and despite any attraction between the two she was still on her guard, Jason saw this. "Look, you called me, so I know you already trust me at least to a degree, have a seat in the car and I'll show you a time you won't soon forget."

The sixteen year old figured why not, it's not like she had much left to loose, and got in his car.

The drive took quite a while, Lilly asked where they were going a number of times and each time Jason would reply "you'll see." Finally, they arrived at their destination – Whiteman Airport. This was a small airport in northern Los Angeles, a single runway not long enough to accommodate any airliners but private planes wouldn't have trouble with it. "What are we doing at an airport?" Lilly asked, keeping her eyes forward and speaking through her teeth, she was nervous to say the least.

Jason only parked his car and got out, motioning for Lilly to follow, she did so, however reluctantly. She followed him into a building and to a desk where a man was sitting. "George, how's it going?" Jason asked the older gentleman.

"Ah Jason, I wasn't expecting to see you today, gonna work on that instrument rating?" The man said.

"Well yeah but that's not why I'm going up right now, this is Lilly, a new friend of mine."

George looked at the blond and smiled, Lilly still wasn't sure what was going on. "Okay, I'll bring you out, nothing's going on anyway" George said as he got up from his chair.

"Thanks George" Jason said.

"No problem" the man replied.

A ninety second walk brought the trio to a small, single-engine plane. It was very streamlined, a curvy body not like most other single engine props. This aircraft was a Cirrus SR22 Turbo. Jason stepped onto the left wing and opened the door, which opened similar to a Ferrari Enzo door, and got in. "Come on Lilly" he said. The girl wasn't sure how to get into the thing, it wasn't very apparent. "Climb onto the right wing and get in" he explained.

Lilly did so, finding what looked to be a step right behind the wing, she was in the plane and practically overlapping shoulders with Jason sixty seconds later.

Jason started the engine and the digital displays in front of both him and Lilly lit up to show the heads-up display. Jason flipped several switches, performing his pre-flight when Lilly spoke up. "We're not uh… Going anywhere are we?"

"Just up" Jason said with a smile. A few minutes later he stopped fiddling with the controls and put a headset on. He pressed a button on the headset and spoke: "Whiteman tower five-seven-seven-five uniform alpha request taxi to the active, straight out departure."

He must've got a response as not long after he said: "five-seven-seven-five uniform alpha copies, taxiing to three-zero, will report when ready." He released a lever and throttled up, the plane began to move forward and then made a right turn. It was late, there wasn't much air traffic at this hour especially general aviation so it didn't take long for them to get to the runway, Lilly was having a mild panic attack. "Five-seven-seven-five uniform alpha is ready at runway three-zero, straight out" he got his response and pointed the plane in the direction of the runway. Before he did anything further however, he put his hand on the blond's shoulder, making her jump slightly. "You okay?" He asked with a smile. Lilly looked at him, a scared expression on her face but she didn't say anything. "Relax, you'll like it."

He then gave the aircraft full throttle, it quickly gained speed down the short runway and as soon as he hit sixty knots he gave a gentle pull on the side stick. "Whiteman tower five-seven-seven-five request five-thousand for a scenic overview of the city." A few seconds later, "Five-seven-seven-five copies and thank you."

At this point Lilly had nearly peed her pants. She was holding onto the roof of the plane with her left hand and the right side stick with her right, making controlling the plane more difficult for its pilot-in-command. "Lilly, you've gotta let go of the control, that's not a handle bar" Jason said. "Just take a deep breath and look out the window."

It took a little while, but the blond managed to calm down enough to look out the window to her side, and what she saw was spectacular. The entire city was lit up under her coupled with the mountainous horizon and still beautiful skyline. "Wow…" Was all she could manage to say.

"Told you you'd like it" Jason said as he turned the plane to the right, allowing Lilly a better view.

Her eyes were wide; this certainly was a memorable experience.

* * *

A bit short, how'd I do?


	8. Three Wounds

Chapter 8: Three Wounds

Sorry for the delay folks, I'm not positive how much more this story has to go but this chapter is the beginning of the end, after this I've got one more big thing to happen then a corny ending to wrap it up.

* * *

It had been a couple months since Lilly's first real alone time with Jason five thousand feet above Los Angeles. The two had gone out together many times since and had declared themselves boyfriend and girlfriend along the way.

But in that time, nobody from Lilly's circle of friends had met Jason, not formally anyway. But that was about to change, the blond had gotten permission to invite Jason to dinner with the Stewart's and he was happy to accept.

Lilly was madly nervous, it wasn't there from square one but she had found herself falling for this boy, and falling hard. At this point she was ready to say the "L" word but was afraid of doing so. She dressed casually, a medium blue short sleeved shirt that stopped right at her red shorts waistband. It was a simple outfit but very cute and she knew Jason liked things simple, which also confused her because even though he had taken her for another dozen or more flights she still hadn't the faintest idea of what instruments in the plane did what.

He was going to arrive any minute; Robby had just put five pounds of lamb in the oven and was concerned if it was going to be enough as Oliver and Jackson were going to be joining them. Lilly stood near the front door, practically ready to jump out of it at the first sign of Jason's arrival. That was when Miley approached her. "Lilly, calm down, I'm sure daddy is gonna love him."

Lilly had her hands clasped together in front of her chest, she shook them hard before saying "Oh, I just hope he gets here soon, if he's late then your dad and brother and Oliver are gonna-" Miley cut her off.

"They're not going to do anything, I promise, and I'm really looking forward to meeting him too" the brunette gave the blond a hug from behind.

That clamed the sixteen year old down only slightly, but she was able to compose herself long enough to turn around and return the hug. "I really hope everybody likes him."

It was at this point that Jason knocked on the door, causing Lilly to nearly jump out of her skin. "EEEEEP!" She squealed as she fumbled with the doorknob to let him in.

"Whoa! Slow down there girl!" Miley said however it fell on deaf ears as Lilly opened the door and hugged the boy.

"Hey Lilly, I hope I'm not late" Jason said with a smile.

They broke the hug and Miley noticed this was the same guy she had seen at the mall months ago when Lilly's mother died. "Hey! You're that guy who, um, at the mall a few months ago…" Miley didn't want to rehash bad memories.

"Yes, I am that guy; it's nice to see you again miss…?"

"Miley… Er, Stewart, yeah um… Miley Stewart" Miley fumbled with her words as she was once again going gaga over this guy.

"Uh yeah…" Jason said, obviously uncomfortable. "Lilly did tell you that she and I are… Um…" Jason could tell the brunette was infatuated with him and possibly that she forgot that he was in a relationship.

"Oh yeah, I told her Jason" Lilly said, she then led Jason off to the dinner table.

"Sweet niblets" Miley mumbled to herself upon returning back to reality.

"Jackson, get down here boy company is here!" Robby yelled upstairs as he put a few slices of bread in the toaster.

"Um… Mr. Stewart?" Lilly asked meekly.

"Ah so this is the guy I've been hearing in passing about" the older man said as he extended a hand to shake.

Jason shook the man's hand and asked with a smile; "In passing?"

"Well yeah, you know teenage girls; they don't talk to their parents much." Robby explained.

"Oh it's not just the girls" Jason commented.

"Heh, so true" Robby said with a laugh.

"This is going well!" Lilly whispered to Miley.

As soon as Jackson walked into the kitchen with Oliver in tow he flinched back, right into Oliver and knocking him into the piano and then causing him to fall onto a potted plant. The reason for this was Jason's size in comparison with, well, everybody else in the room.

Miley tended to Oliver as Jackson slowly approached Jason, the southern boy was intimidated, but it didn't take much to do that to him. "S-so uh… I'm Jack… Jackson, I'm er…"

"Miley's sister." Jason said, taking Jackson's hand to shake. "Pleased to meet you."

His friendly demeanor did little to help with Jackson's anxiety.

* * *

Dinner was served shortly after Jackson had managed to pull himself together and Oliver was able to wash up. After only a few bites from his plate Jason said "Wow Mister Stewart, this is excellent."

"Why thank you sir, I really appreciate you saying that." Robby said. Then he leaned toward Lilly and whispered; "I'm really liking you're boyfriend."

Lilly couldn't suppress her smile, this meet was going perfectly.

As it did for the rest of the time, Robby was very impressed with Jason's personality and kind-heartedness, the college boy had insisted on helping to clean the dishes while Jackson and Oliver ran off to who knows where and the girls retreated to the back deck. When it came time for Jason to leave Lilly wanted to join him for the ride. After telling her that she wouldn't be able to get home Lilly became insistent, saying that she would stay over his house, matching her boyfriend's stubborn side. Jason gave in and the two drove to his house.

* * *

Jason's house was pretty big, a ten room house that was dressed up well. Lilly had been here before a number of times and not one of those times did she ever see any sign of the boy's parents, only his Black Labrador, Rex.

"Hey Jas? Can I ask you a personal question?" Lilly asked.

"You sure can" the boy replied.

"Um, I don't mean to intrude but, where are your parents?"

He stopped dead in his tracks. He knew this question would come at some point but there really wasn't any way to prepare for it.

Lilly saw this. "I, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend…" Jason interrupted her.

"No, no it's not offensive, it's just, a bad memory."

"Bad memory? Lilly asked, approaching him.

"I've never really talked about my parents much have I?" Jason asked, turning to face her. Lilly shook her head. "Well, it's because they're dead."

Lilly looked hurt, she had no idea and she felt horrible about bringing such a situation up. "Oh my God Jason, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-" Again Jason cut her off.

"There's nothing to apologize for, you didn't know and I completely understand your situation, don't worry about it." He said looking her in the eyes. They stared at each other, gazing deeply into each other, right into their very souls. Their faces moved closer together, no words were exchanged and their lips met, soon after followed by their hands. It wasn't long before the clothes came off and they were in his bed.

* * *

Hours of lovemaking passed until Lilly spoke. "That was amazing."

"It was" Jason said.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Lilly suggested, she was far from tired and wanted to blow off some steam, her adrenaline was rushing and she needed to wind down before she could sleep.

"It's two AM" Jason said in monotone.

"So?" Lilly asked with a smile.

Jason smiled back, "Okay, let's go."

The pair dressed and exited his house; they walked for quite a ways, talking about the future. He wanted to be a pilot and was already well on his way, she had no clue what she wanted to do with her life yet.

It was a half hour since they left Jason's house and it was at this time that they realized where they were. Jason looked around, "You know Lilly I think we should head back, we're in a bad part of town."

Lilly looked around herself, she had been oblivious to where they were as she was too wrapped up in her company, but it didn't take long for her to agree. "Yeah, you're right, we're in gang territory, let's go."

The two turned around and began to walk back; they rounded a corner and then another, heading back to Jason's house. Once they had gotten around the second corner they spotted a small group of gang-banger looking types walking toward them. "Lilly, back the way we came" Jason said as he turned the girl around and practically pulled her along with him.

That was when an old Cadillac blasted around the corner; three more gang-bangers hanging half way out the windows, each of them were holding automatic guns. Lilly screamed and Jason grabbed her head and tucked her under his chest. Gunfire rang out as the car drove by, the gang on the street firing back, then, silence.

Lilly looked around without leaving Jason's grasp, she looked at the four men they had been trying to get away from, all four lied on the sidewalk motionless.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked, his voice was labored and his breath was short but Lilly was so scared she didn't notice.

The sixteen year old did a three second check of herself, she was fine. "Yeah… yeah, I'm alright."

"Okay good…" His voice was still labored. "You can call the ambulance then…" That was when he collapsed to the ground onto his stomach and Lilly saw what had happened, he had taken at least four shots in his upper back, right where her head would've been had he not been protecting her.

"OH MY GOD!" Lilly screamed, without thinking she turned the severely injured boy onto his back and held his head in her hands, begging him to say something.

But he couldn't. When he opened his mouth all that came out was blood and gurgling noises. He looked Lilly in the eye a final time before his eyes glazed over and he stopped moving.

Lilly's face was covered in tears, she still had Jason's head in her hands, she was speechless, another person she loved had been taken from her.

* * *

It's not over yet. Please review.


	9. Something Left Behind

Chapter 9: Something Left behind

I noticed I need to edit my chapters more closely. By the way, why have I gone three chapters without a review? Am I slipping that badly?

* * *

"Dad, something's wrong, she's been gone for three days!" Miley exclaimed to her father.

For the past seventy-two hours Robby had been diluting himself, telling himself that Lilly was safe and in good hands. Right now he was sitting on his couch watching the news. "Now honey if you're that worried about her why don't you give her a call?"

"I did, a dozen times, she's not answering" Miley informed.

That was when Robby snapped back to reality, if only partially. "Okay, well, let's not panic yet, she just might want to be alone with Jason you know?"

"Tragedy struck a neighborhood on the east side of Los Angeles early Saturday morning when five young men were brutally gunned down…" The news anchor said, getting the Stewart's attentions. "This happened around two-thirty AM Saturday morning, four of the victims were Hispanic males estimated to be aged anywhere from sixteen to twenty-four, none of which were carrying any form of identification…"

"And the fifth?" Miley and Robby both said at the same time, their eyes fixated on the TV. Both of them had a very bad feeling about this news story.

"The fifth victim was a twenty year old college student named Jason Drake, who was the only one of the five victims who was unarmed…"

The Stewart's hearts sank.

"The woman who called in the shooting said that she recalled seeing a teenage girl fleeing the scene, police are now looking for this girl. She is described as standing about five foot two to five foot five with blond hair in a ponytail and weighing around one-hundred to one-hundred ten pounds."

Robby and Miley had heard enough, they both ran out to Robby's truck and sped off without telling Jackson where they were going.

* * *

Traffic was light, but it still ended up taking them almost a half hour to get to Jason's house. It was lucky Robby had thought to ask Jason where he lived, he didn't give a house number but he did give a street name and that was all Robby really needed. Now they just needed to find the house with Jason's car in the driveway.

That process didn't take long, Jason's neighborhood was pretty upscale, not gated community upscale mind you but still very nice. His was the only house on the street with a Chevy Cobalt, or any American car for that matter, the rest of the houses sported BMW's, Mercedes-Benz's, Audi's and Lexus's among other high-end luxury and sports cars.

Robby parked his truck and he and his daughter rushed to the front door, which they found to be open. They entered the house and called out Lilly's name, what they got in return was an eighty pound Black Labrador barking and growling at them.

The dog actually backed them into a corner before Lilly finally appeared from upstairs. "Rex, heel, go lay down!" She ordered of the animal. The large dog gave a last growl of disapproval before obeying. The Stewart's could see that Lilly was in bad shape, she was still wearing the same clothes she had on when she left with Jason three nights ago, only now they had some mild blood stains on them. She also looked as if she hadn't showered in that time either.

"Lilly! What happened?! We saw the thing on the news and-" Miley was cut off by her friend.

"He's dead, just like my mother, everybody I care about dies!" Lilly yelled. Her tone wasn't of depression, not even so much sadness, but anger.

"Is that why you haven't returned Miley's calls?" Robby asked as gently as he could, the blond nodded.

"Everybody I get close to gets taken away from me somehow… My father shunned me away, my mother gets killed in a car accident, and now my boyfriend gets shot dead in the street!"

"Oh but Lilly that wasn't your fault…" Robby tried to tell her.

"YES IT WAS!" Lilly screamed at the top of her lungs. Her face was red as a beat and tears were trickling down her cheeks. "He…" She sniffled up. "He… He was…"

"He was what?" Miley asked, putting hand on the blond's shoulder.

"He was protecting me…" Then Lilly lost it, collapsing into Miley's embrace.

"Protecting you?" Robby asked.

It took a while, but Lilly was able to compose herself enough to explain how Jason had used his own body as a shield to save her life, neither Miley nor Robby had any idea what to say.

After a long while of consoling, Robby managed to convince Lilly to come back to his house and resume living with them, telling her to bring Rex along too. He couldn't ask her to put the dog in a pound or up for adoption; Rex was really the only thing she had left of the boy.

* * *

Days passed and Robby had allowed Lilly to stay out of school while she got back on her feet. She had already missed two days since she had been camping out at Jason's house.

It was early Friday evening and it looked like Lilly was finally starting to recover. She actually managed a smile today when Jackson woke up from a snooze on the couch to find Rex resting his head on the boy's knee.

The downside was she wasn't feeling too good. Her bowels were shifting uncomfortably as she lay on her bed. "Stomach still bothering you?" Miley asked, looking up from her homework.

Painfully, Lilly responded; "Oh yes… I don't know what it could be from either, I haven't… Oh boy" She jumped up from her bed and ran to the bathroom.

She barely made it; she leaned over and puked her guts out into the toilet. Miley arrived and said something about getting paper towels before vacating. But this was when Lilly figured out what was wrong with her. "Oh please God no…"

* * *

Gee… I wonder what could be wrong with her… So I know not everybody is going to be too keen on this idea but hey, this is an angst story after all. I'd appreciate it if I could get one or two people to tell me how this chapter went please and thank you.


	10. Plans

Chapter 10: Plans

I'm thinking after this there will be two, possibly three more chapters and this story will be finished.

* * *

"You can't be serious" Miley said, stunned.

Lilly had managed to calm her bowels and was able to return to her friend's room, her eyes were red from the tears and she had told Miley what it was that was making her sick. "It is."

"How can you be so sure? I mean, it could be a stomach bug or just something minor like that or-" Lilly cut her off.

"I missed my period" she informed.

Miley froze for a moment, "you sure you're not just late?" She was obviously in denial. Lilly shook her head. The brunette silently admitted defeat and came up with a rather drastic question. "Are you sure it's Jason's?"

The blond looked up at her friend, highly offended. Without a word the sixteen year old stood up and walked over to Miley, slapping her across the face then storming out of the room, then out of the house. "Am I sure it's his? Of course I'm sure it's his! What does she think I am some kind of slut?" Lilly spoke to herself as she walked to the beach. She took a seat at Rico's bar, trying to stay hidden although she could've picked a better spot to try and disappear.

Rico was manning the shack by himself as he did on Friday nights for the last hour and a half before closing, there were only two other people at the bar, a young couple, a tall blond young man that made Lilly think of Jason.

"Hey-o folks! Time's up, the shack is closed so… GET LOST!" Rico announced. The couple looked at the little boy as if he had two heads before leaving. Lilly didn't leave however, in fact she hadn't even noticed Rico boot out two paying customers and walk up to her. "Hey blondie?" The boy asked in a friendly tone.

He got Lilly's attention, she looked at him and replied; "hm?"

"That means you too! BEAT IT!" The Latin boy yelled.

Lilly flinched but then grabbed a napkin dispenser and hit Rico over the head with it; the boy fell off the counter. He got up and said; "Ooohhh you're gonna pay for that!" He ducked behind his counter and returned with a pen and paper. "Full name, address, social security number, phone number where I can reach you anytime and lawyer's phone number if you have one" the boy demanded.

"Fuck you Rico! I have enough problems without you being such an asshole!" The blond said, removing herself.

She walked down to the shoreline, she had left the Stewart's without putting shoes on and so she stood at the waterline, her feet being soaked by the brisk Pacific Ocean. She let herself fall to her butt, the water soaking through the fabric of her shorts but she didn't notice let alone care. "My God Jason… I'm so sorry; I can't raise a child by myself!" She broke down. "Why did you have to die? Why couldn't it have been me? You had too much to live for!"

"_Now you have too much to live for"_ Lilly heard Jason's voice say. Her head shot up, her eyes wide; she looked around but found herself to be alone.

"Jason?" She asked meekly.

Silence.

The blond wondered if it was her own consciousness trying to tell her something or if by some miracle Jason had just communicated with her from beyond the grave. Either way the message was clear, Lilly now had a responsibility; she was going to have this child, care for it and raise it into adulthood, just like Jason would've wanted.

* * *

She returned to the Stewart house, hesitant to enter since she had hit Miley earlier. Once she did she found the three southern folks sitting at the kitchen table, and they weren't eating. "Lilly, take a seat please" Robby said, motioning to a seat at the empty corner of the table. Lilly did so, slowly, she didn't like where this was going. "I uh… Understand you had a bit of an incident earlier?" Robby said not looking for an answer.

The blond's heart sank, she felt sure that her assault on Miley had just earned her a one-way ticket to the streets. Sure, she could go back to Jason's house but it wouldn't be long before collections agents repossessed it since nobody was paying the property tax. It was a wonder that it hadn't been reclaimed yet already since it was by now well known that its owner was no longing alive. "I um… I didn't think before I acted…" She tried to explain.

"I know" Robby said. "But that doesn't excuse what you did, and now the four of us are in a bit of a situation."

"_The four of us?"_ Lilly wondered.

"You see Rico stopped by only a few minutes ago and asked where you lived. When I told him here he handed me a piece of paper and asked me to fill out all of your information and get it back to him by tomorrow and on top of that he fired my son."

That caught the sixteen year old off guard; she was positive that he had been talking about the problem with Miley. She looked to the brunette, silently asking why she wasn't being asked about their encounter. "So we're in a bit of a jam Lilly" Miley said to her friend.

"He wants to sue us, bodily injury he says." Robby clarified.

"Or more specifically, _you_" Jackson spat, obviously very angry.

"Alright Jackson relax, the situation is being handled" Robby assured. The boy backed down. "It's also been brought to my attention that you yourself have a bit of a problem."

The blond looked from Robby to Jackson to Miley then back to Robby. "Um… I'm trying to think of it as a mixed blessing" Lilly said, not sure if what she was saying was being completely honest with herself or the Stewarts.

"That's a good way to think of it, but it's not going to be easy for you, are you sure you're up to it?"

Lilly thought before responding. "No, but I can't give it away, Jason wouldn't have wanted that."

"Jason had money to support a child, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we don't, not with Rico's lawsuit." Robby informed, wishing he didn't have to.

"Dad maybe we can get Rico to drop the lawsuit" Miley suggested.

"How?" Both Robby and Jackson asked.

"I don't know but… You know… Maybe we can think of something?"

"I doubt it Miles, but for now why don't we try to concentrate on what we can control… Which isn't much; I'll give my lawyer a call and see what he can do, you kids just go to your rooms, I need some time to think."

* * *

Lilly and Miley once again were sitting on their individual beds. "Why didn't you tell your dad I hit you?" Lilly queried.

"Because I deserved what I got from you for what I said" Miley answered. Lilly didn't respond, mostly because she had no idea what to say. "Let's concentrate on Rico, I think I know a way to get this lawsuit out of the picture."

"How?" The blond asked.

With a heavy sigh, Miley said, "Let me worry about that…"

* * *

Chapter 10 up and out, please review.


	11. Trade Off

Chapter 11: Trade Off

That was a very long wait and I apologize to all, life has been getting in the way.

* * *

Lilly woke up to find Miley was not in her bed. She glanced at the clock, which read eleven AM on the nose. She pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom; she combed her hair and brushed her teeth then after splashing some water on her face, walked downstairs.

Robby was the only other one on the first floor, Lilly looked at him apologetically. Instead of a good morning greeting Robby began with "Lilly have you seen Miley? She hasn't been around all day."

The blond was now a little concerned. "Um, no I haven't, she wasn't here earlier this morning?"

"No she wasn't, I found myself eating breakfast alone. No idea where she is?"

Lilly shook her head. "Let me give her a call" she pulled out her cell phone only to find it had no service. "You guys normally have no service in the house?"

"No, we get excellent reception in here, why you don't have any bars?"

"No, that's we-" She stopped herself, remembering why she no longer had any cell phone service, the person paying the bill, her mother, was dead. "I need to um… Get a new phone…" She whispered.

That was when Miley walked in the front door looking as if she had just witnessed a murder. "Miles?" Robby asked.

Instantly the brunette perked up to her normal self. "Hi daddy! Sorry I missed breakfast, Oliver um… Gave me a call and needed some help with… A thing at his house" she rambled walking further into the house and towards the stairs, passing Lilly and subtly putting a note into the blond's pocket.

Robby looked a little confused. "I um… Probably don't want to know…"

Lilly pulled the note out of her pocket after he turned back around. "UPSTAIRS NOW!" was what it said.

* * *

The pregnant girl put the note back in her pocket then did what it told her to do. She entered Miley's bedroom to find the younger girl in the fetal position, one hand on her groin and whimpering heavily though trying to keep sounds to a minimum so as not to attract attention.

"Miley? What happened?!" Lilly whispered.

"I uh…" She cried quietly. "Rico, I… let him…" She pointed to her privates with her nose "So he'd… Drop the lawsuit…"

It took Lilly a moment to put two and two together, but once she figured it out her eyes went wide and her mouth went agape. She tried to speak but the words couldn't come out. She shook her head to clear it but even that didn't do the full job. "You… You let him…" She had trouble finishing her sentence. "… Do things to you?"

Miley nodded.

Lilly once again lost her ability to speak.

* * *

Robby answered the knock at the door to find a man he did not recognize. "May I help you?" He asked.

"Is Lillian Truscott present?" The man said.

"Who's asking?"

"She has a message from a Mister…" The man looked at the letter he had in his hand. "Rico."

"Lord all mighty what the hell does he want now? Lilly!"

Lilly heard her name being called and it snapped her back to reality. "Oh shit, I'll be right back" she said to Miley before exiting.

The blond got to the bottom of the stairs and said "Yes Mister Stewart?"

"The plaintiff has another message for you" Robby said walking back into the kitchen, obviosly pissed off.

Lilly, confused, approached the man, who handed her the letter. "You've been served" he said before he turned and left.

She opened the letter, it was a short one. "_all charges dropped. Mwahahahahahahahahahahahah"_ was all it said.

"What's he suing us for now?" Robby asked.

A part of Lilly was relieved. "He's um… dropping the charges."

"What? Seriously?" Robby asked, getting up and rushing towards the girl. He took the paper from her hand and read it. He took a few seconds to comprehend it but them said "Huh… I wonder why he did that."

"_I could tell you why"_ Lilly said to herself. "Well, the uh… Reason isn't too important to me; at least we don't have to worry about the lawsuit anymore."

Robby paused for a moment before saying "Well maybe, but that was just blind luck, you've still got a big responsibility on your hands and that's not going to go away."

Lilly lowered her head, silently admitting he was right and that she understood. She stood there for a handful of seconds and then went back upstairs to be there for her friend.

* * *

The blond returned to Miley's room and found it to be empty, so she decided to try the bathroom. The door was ajar, but barely, she could hear water running but not from the shower, it sounded more like the sink. Figuring Miley was trying to wash up, she let herself in…

…To find Miley nude from the waist down. She was furiously scrubbing at her nether regions. At first Lily wanted to look away but then put her innocence aside, Miley needed a friend right now and she seems to have thrown shame to the wind. "Miley?" Lilly said quietly.

Miley turned, her face was beat red, she dropped the sponge she was using and stared at the other girl, trauma in her eyes. Lilly closed the bathroom door and Miley walked over to her, without dressing herself, and collapsed into the blond's embrace, crying her heart out.

Lilly sunk to her butt and leaned on the wall behind her in a sitting position, Miley followed and the crying continued. The brunette had made a huge sacrifice for her friend, but the price may been too high.

* * *

Yet another dark turn for this story. Once again I appologize for the long wait for this update.


	12. New Life

Chapter 12: New Life

I have no excuse for the long wait in getting this chapter up…

(In loving memory of Amethyst Williams, November 27th 1989-January 25th 2009)

* * *

How the past nine months had passed without Robby finding out what made Rico drop the lawsuit was a mystery but the girls were grateful. It was delivery time, Lilly had gone into labor two hours ago and only Robby had been allowed to stay in the room with her.

The pain was incredible, Robby had her hand in his and right now the circulation to it was limited but he didn't care, Lilly needed this. Ear-piercing screams filled the room as Lilly's child was born.

Clearly out of breath, Lilly released Robby's hand and tried to relax, the oddly refreshing sound of a crying baby could be heard. The doctor was the first to speak.

"Congratulations Ms. Truscott, it's a girl."

Slowly catching her breath, Lilly held her newborn daughter for the first time. Robby couldn't help but let a tear fall from his eye.

* * *

Lilly and the Stewart's eagerly awaited test results for Lilly's daughter, who she had named Heather, after her mother. The two-day old baby was being checked for any complications which nobody more than Lilly was terrified about. Her whole life had been one pitfall after another, it would fit perfectly, however unwelcome, if Heather had something wrong with her.

After an agonizing wait the doctor emerged from the room where Heather was being checked, his face resembling that of a professional poker player so it was anyone's guess what the news was. Lilly got to her feet and did her best not to stampede into the doctor. "Doctor, how is she?" Lilly asked, nearly begging.

"Well Ms. Truscott I am happy to tell you that your baby girl is perfectly healthy and by all accounts should live a full, happy life."

Lilly's eyes watered and she couldn't contain her excitement, she threw herself into the doctor's arms. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Oh my God thank you doctor!"

The doctor couldn't help but chuckle a bit, giving the young mother a hug back. "You can bring her home tomorrow, right now she's sleeping peacefully." Lilly's smile couldn't have gotten any wider.

She walked over to the doorway where her daughter lay sleeping. Heather was adorable; little peach fuzz of blond hair matching her mother's sat on her head, her emerald eyes were closed but she knew they matched Jason's, who she still missed terribly.

* * *

Very short update I know, I hope to have another chapter up very soon.

* * *


	13. The Story

Chapter 13: The Story

Made a promise and I'm trying to keep it…

* * *

Sixteen years… It seemed to go by so fast, at least to Lilly Truscott.

Now a successful inventory manager for the Kohl's department store, Lilly had become a respectable young woman. She hadn't allowed herself to get close another man since Jason and every year on the anniversary of his death she would return to the place he had saved her life. She noticed that every year the area seemed to get a little better; it had gone from a lower-middle class neighborhood to something a bit prettier. It was now safe to walk through at night; Jason has actually, thus far, been the street's latest victim.

Heather was now a teenager, the same age as her mother was when she had her. Lilly loved her as much as she could, but the dark times known as the teenage years had settled in. Heather always resented that she was being raised by a single parent and whenever she asked Lilly about her father she kept saying "when you're a little older", a line that really got under her skin.

She resembled her mother sixteen years ago, except the diamond blue eyes were replaced with an emerald green, a gift from her father. She also inherited her father's height, standing five foot nine.

Heather returned from school, making a beeline for her room and turning on a song by Frank Jonas. He'd been gifted the talent his brothers had and while now Kevin, Joe and Nick were thirty-seven, thirty- five and thirty-two respectively, Frank, at twenty-three, had carried on the phenomenon of the Jonas Brother's, keeping to a similar sound. She logged onto her computer, immediately logging onto AIM to see her friend, Brian Stewart, was online.

Craziblond2010: hey

Montanakid1: hey

Craziblond2010: wats up?

Montanakid1: lots of nothing, u?

Craziblond2010: same, im getting rly pissed at my mom

Montanakid1: still hasn't told u about ur father?

Craziblond2010: no, and its really starting to get to me, im starting to think she regretted being with him and doesn't want me to think I was some accident

Montanakid1: maybe, but it could be a lot of things

Craziblond2010: like wat? Something stupid like wat happened to my grandma?

Montanakid1: could've been a car accident

Craziblond2010: then why not just tell me? Im 16 now I can handle it!

Montanakid1: couldn't tell u

Craziblond2010: no, it had to be something bad, im 16, shes 32, she was 16 wen she had me…

Montanakid1: wat r u thinking?

Craziblond2010: rape? Possibly?

Montanakid1: … could've been that too…

Heather shook her head. Craziblond2010: im finding out tonight…

Montanakid1: u r?

Craziblond2010: ya, I just decided that now…

Montanakid1: ur mom invited us to dinner tonight…

Craziblond2010: even better

* * *

Later that night Lilly had come home and began preparing dinner for five, the Stewarts had arrived about twenty minutes ago, Lilly and Miley were in the kitchen finishing up. "Have you told her yet? Miley asked.

"No, I'm not sure if she's ready to hear it yet…" Lilly answered.

Miley rolled her eyes. "Lilly… She's not ready… Or you're not?"

Lilly looked at Miley, "Come on, let's just finish here".

Dinner was served, Chicken Parmesan and pasta. Lilly sat at one end of the table, to her right were Brian and Heather and to her left were Miley and her husband, Mike.

Miley had met Mike only after she hung up her Hannah Montana wig, which was fourteen years ago when she hit eighteen. Of all places they met a Jonas Brother's concert, what was announced as their "last tour". Miley, being a friend of the trio, had backstage passes, Mike had been hired locally to help with setting up the stage and the rest is history. He had proposed to Miley, after popping the question, if she wanted to keep her last name and he would take hers, which at the time had been becoming more and more common, when she asked him why he responded: "Do you really want to be known as "Miley Milbery" For the rest of your life?" That was all it took.

The food was almost gone; Brian looked at Heather, silently asking her if she was going to ask her mother about her father, Heather got the message. "Mom?"

"Yes sweetie?" Lilly replied, Heather not being happy with being called "sweetie" in front of company.

"I want to know about my dad".

It was Lilly's turn to not be happy in front of company. "Heather, this isn't the time…"

Miley put in her two cents. "Lilly! Come on now, she deserves to know what happened, it's not like he was some deadbeat loser who you had too much to drink with one night".

"She's right mom, plus, I want to know, why have you been keeping it from me so long?"

Mike and Brian stayed quiet, this wasn't their battle.

After much hesitation, Lilly spoke. "Michael, Miley, Brian… Heather and I were very happy to have you tonight…"

"We'll show ourselves the door" Miley volunteered, practically dragging her husband and her son out of the house.

"Heather… I haven't told you yet for two reasons, one I didn't think you could handle it, and two I wasn't sure if I could handle it". Heather stared hard at her mother as she spoke. "You're father's name was Jason Covitz, I met him very shortly after your grandmother died… he was the greatest guy I've ever met, he was tall, handsome, mysterious, smart… Everything you could ask for and more".

"But what happened between you and him?" Heather queried.

"I'm getting to that honey… For our first date he took me on an airplane ride, kind of against my will, but once I managed to calm down I loved it, it was incredible. He wanted to fly planes for a living, and he was already well down that path when I met him".

Heather knew a girl in school whose father was a pilot, this girl was constantly complaining that her father was never around and how she never gets to see him. "So is that why you broke it off with him? Because he was never around?"

"I said I'm getting to that Heather…" Lilly said. "After a few months of he and I seeing each other I spent the night at his house… Which is where you happened…"

"Ew…" Heather commented.

"You wanted the story… After that I talked him into going for a late night walk… Biggest mistake of my life" Heather now had an idea of what happened. Your father and I were so enthralled with each other that we didn't pay attention to where we were going, and we ended up in what was at the time, gang territory".

Heather's facial expression turned from anxiousness to shock and disbelief. "Don't tell me he was…"

"Not in the way you think" Lilly said, her eyes tearing up. "Once we became aware of where we were we quickly decided to leave, we ran into a small group of gang members but we didn't have any contact with them…" Lilly was losing her composure, her voice cracking as the pain from that night returned after sixteen years.

Heather wasn't faring much better, she took her mother's hands in hers and said, "Mom…" her voice was cracking also. "What happened?"

Lilly took a heavy sigh. "A car with other gang members in it drove by us and they started shooting… your father…" She sniffed up, barely being able to hold onto what was left of her composure. "Your father grabbed me and held me to his chest, his back facing the gang in the car… When the shooting stopped…" She was really loosing it now. "Your father collapsed… he was hit in the back, I held him, begging him to speak to me, but he died in my arms.

Lilly broke down completely, crying her heart out as Heather sat there, contemplating what she had just been told. She now knew that she was never going to meet her father, but on the other hand it was for the most noble of reasons, he had saved the woman he loves life at the expense of his own.

* * *

It took a long while for Lilly to completely recover from her emotional conversation; Heather took an equal amount of time coming to terms with herself about her father. Now she had to turn the final page to this chapter of her life. "Mom?" She asked quietly as it was very late at night.

"Yes honey?" Lilly asked, knowing what she wanted.

"Is there any chance you could… Take me to see dad some day?"

Lilly sat up in her bed and looked her daughter in the eyes. "Your father is buried in the city's own cemetery… The police took his body and he had no family, and I wasn't in any position to claim his body and pay for a funeral".

It was painful news, and Heather appropriately made it clear she wasn't happy with it. "So they just tossed a heroes body aside like a piece of garbage?"

Lilly bit her bottom lip. "That's unfortunately what the city does…"

"Can't we do something about it now? Claim his body or something? Let him rest in peace?"

Lilly thought for a long while, "Maybe we can…"

* * *

Damn, I wish I could've saved the life of the girl I loved at the expense of my own; you have no idea how painful it is too loose somebody like that…


End file.
